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Engulfed in his warmth

First of all, I really enjoy reading your comments regarding my previous post. Thank you CKati, QuevivaCandy, Reeka, Antlay, and Agnès, for your interesting thoughts and insights. QuevivaCandy helped by providing more spoilers to us, and Antlay actually raised a good point — Albert himself had been misjudged by others merely based on his casual appearance. No one had ever suspected that he was one of the wealthiest men in the country because he looked so much like a homeless or a vagabond. Also, Agnès pointed out that Albert even got kicked out of his own premises because the guard assumed he was an intruder. LOL… Therefore, Albert could use himself as an irrefutable example to explain why people should not ‘judge a book by its cover’! 🙂

Anyway, I’m going to describe what Candy said about Albert then and now in Candy Candy Final Story (CCFS). From the spoilers, Candy wrote,

… Albert was just Albert. It wasn’t something I had to wonder about.
His presence gave me a marvellous feeling of security.
Now I can understand the meaning of the bond that tied us with invisible threads.

As I have told some of you already, I can read some Japanese, though very slowly and not without effort. Nonetheless, I must say I enjoy reading CCFS excerpts, which helps improving my Japanese reading skills! Without further ado, let me show you the second last sentence in Japanese first:

アルバートさんが、存在しているだけで不思議な安心感に包まれた。

Basically, the Candy Candy fan who has kindly given us the spoilers above has done a good job translating this sentence, but now that I can read the original text in Japanese, I’d like to share with you my interpretation. Hence, I will rewrite the line using my own words, so what Candy said was,

Albert-san, by simply being present, I was wrapped in a marvelous sense of security.

Guess what? With these words in mind, this manga scene popped up in my head, which occurred when Candy had just discovered Albert’s true identity. With tears streaming down her cheeks, she remembered his proposal to share her anguish and sadness from now on (the famous sandwich scene) and his words after that, “will you promise me?”. Then she continued her inner thoughts about him (I’m translating word for word here) as below:

Albert-san… warmly wrapped me, a tender (gentle) person… at any given time, that surely unchanged…

To rephrase it, Candy was thinking, “Albert-san, a tender person, embraced me in his warmth (or warm hug). No matter when, this would surely remain unchanged.”

I don’t think Candy referred only to the touching moment of the sandwich sharing proposal. Very likely, she meant Albert being very tender to her in general; it was like she was engulfed in his warmth always, and he would never change.

Such beautiful words!! Don’t you think? 😀

Back to Candy’s description of Albert in CCFS, note that she said “just his presence” (存在している). The phrase だけで is typically used to mean “just this method/location/person will be necessary to accomplish whatever the task”.

The adjective Candy used to depict her feeling, 不思議, actually has many meanings, including wonderful, mysterious, marvelous, curious, strange, weird. In some situations, it gives a hint that something is inexplicable. This link shows you a list of examples of what this word can mean under different contexts.

Last but not the least, the phrase 安心感に包まれた is commonly used (please click the links for more examples) when people express emotional safety and security. It essentially means ‘being wrapped in a sense of security’, which conveys freedom from anxiety or fear.

To conclude, Albert’s sole presence was sufficient to make Candy feel wonderfully safe, or she felt inexplicably secure in his presence alone, as though nothing could harm her so long as she was with him.

Wow, isn’t that something? No wonder she felt so lost after he had vanished in her life later. Poor Candy… Remember, that happened before she realized that he was actually the mighty Uncle William or her handsome Prince on the Hill!!! Sigh… 😉

Since this post has covered a lot already, I will talk about the invisible thread next. Thanks for being patient! 🙂 I’d like to hear from you, so please leave your comments below. Have a nice weekend!

You’re right, dear, that Albert’s presence gave Candy a sense of security even without contact. She had always liked him for some reason that she couldn’t quite understand.

Oh yes… I remember my late friend once told me that the anime version had modified Anthony’s accident in order not to frighten the young audience. Also, instead of sharing a bunk bed as shown in the manga, Albert and Candy had separate bedrooms. 😉 Why? They didn’t want to get any complaint from parents… Lol!!

Oh no, Antlay! I read Japanese not without effort, but I’ll try my best to understand various passages and share with you all. 🙂

Dear Agnès, no it wasn’t my humor about parents complaining… a reader told me that actually, and I think she had read it somewhere… LOL…
In fact, some children watching the anime only didn’t quite understand why Dr. Leonard had to fire Candy… 😉 😛

I totally agree with Reeka!! It is so pleasant to talk about something that marked our childhoods. And in a sense it makes us feel closer no matter where we are from.

The sense of security is what we all look up for, whether it has to be with the man we love, our friends, even our families. Albert was the only character who provided this kind of security at all levels.

Anthony once tried to do it within his own possibilities, yet he was under Aunt Elroy’s decissions. He once openly defy her, although he couldn’t do much. After his death, even the Cornwell brothers were unable to protect her although she was already part of their family. Terry, in spite of being “powerful” as the son of a Duke, couldn’t do much either, and his decision made Candy suffer more than he ever imagined.

Albert on the other hand, was a steady presence in her life as you have already pointed out!

Thank you so much for providing such a marvelous place where “WE can ALL share our thoughts”.

Hola SweetCandyAndley mi querida amiga!! This was exactly the main reason why I created my blog to provide a platform for us to share our thoughts on one of our favorite manga stories. So glad to have met you all in this cyberspace even though we all live far apart physically! 🙂 Actually, the success of each post really depends on inputs from you ladies. Without your feedback, it just isn’t the same! So I must thank you all for your continued support!

You’re so right that as much as they wanted to, Anthony, Stear or Archie couldn’t really protect Candy from miseries or later, the stern aunt’s mean treatment. Terry, on the other hand, didn’t have any power himself as an illegitimate son of the Duke. Also, his decision to leave London in a rush had put Candy in despair, and when they could finally reunite later, it was her farewell to him.

Unbeknownst to Candy, Albert had been giving her protection behind the scene, and what she knew about him was already enough to make her feel safe and secure. Awww….

Wow, Ms Puddle, we’re grateful to have you! Really, I never thought that my childhood/teenage favorite comic could be discussed deeply and thoroughly like what we’ve been doing so far.

I love how tender the way Albert looked at Candy on the attached page. 🙂

Undoubtedly, from what we’ve already known about the spoiler, plus this one you’re explaining, readers can see that Candy think and speak highly of Albert! And it’s not in a context of Albert being Uncle William. It’s Albert as Albert. We know that to Candy, Albert had 3 roles in her life. And these 3 roles had protected Candy in their own way. Albert as vagabond, we know he saved her life twice ( from drowning and Tongo the lion) and he had been with her when she lost Anthony and Terry. Albert as Uncle William, he gave her protection with his powerful name. And Albert as POTH, he somehow gave her protection and strength through his lost badge that Candy had been keeping all the time. Remember that she hold the badge and miss pony’s cross tightly when she lost after running away from Neil.? And Candy herself told Albert that it was her amulet to keep her safe? **and at that time he had regained memory, thus he kissed her on forehead … awww!! **.

So no wonder that Candy really feel safe and secured with Albert’s presence. And it’s not only safe from danger. You know, when we women decided to marry a man we love, it’s not only love and affection. We need to feel secured, to feel that we can trust this man for not hurting us, for not betraying our faith in them, for being reliable when we need to share our happiness/problems. That’s what exactly what Albert did, right? The sandwich moment did touch Candy’s soul deeply.

And Albert being William Albert Ardley, he even more made Candy feel safer and more secured. No one could ever touch her again, not even Aunt Elroy :).

You know how I feel about Terry, Ms Puddle. I like him, but was disappointed with his way in treating Candy, the supposedly love of his life. Most of what he did was far from keeping her safe and secured! Sigh.

Just checked the manga, I was wrong. When Albert found Candy after her running away from Neil, it was Albert kissing her forehead first then later on he saw the badge dangling on Candy’s neck. 🙂 Not the other way around. 😀

Hello dear Reeka! I enjoy what I’ve been doing so far, and I’m more than glad to receive eager support from you ladies! Thank you!

Like you, I really like the way Albert looked in this manga scene, especially his tender eyes. His image matches Candy’s inner feelings for him so perfectly! In fact, this entire episode of the shocking revelation of Uncle William’s true identify was brilliantly done. Bravo to Igarashi indeed! 🙂

Your insightful analysis of Albert’s different roles in Candy’s life is so excellent that I must ask you for permission to quote your thoughts into my next post. May I?